Doritos founder to be buried with iconic snack chips

Reuters News

9/27/2011 5:44:11 PM - Reuters News

DALLAS (Reuters) - The man credited with creating Doritos will be buried along with some of his beloved snack chips, his family told Reuters on Tuesday.

Arch West died September 20 of natural causes at a Dallas hospital. He was 97.

His remains were cremated, and the family plans to bury the urn inside a burial box at a local cemetery on Saturday.

The family requested that friends and relatives who attend the graveside service be allowed to toss Doritos around the box as a tribute.

"He would think it is hilarious," said his daughter Jana Hacker, a resident of the Dallas area. "The cemetery does not mind because they are biodegradable."

Doritos were first introduced in Southern California in 1964 and nationally in 1966, said Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez.

West, a marketing executive for the Frito-Lay, as eager to produce a salty snack chip after sampling a crunchy, "tortilla-type chip" at the roadside stand while on vacation in Southern California in the early 1960s, Hacker said.

"The company didn't really like the idea, but Dad managed to direct some (research and development) money into the project," Hacker said.